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Archive for October, 2015

You might think federal employees have similar needs to your so-called civilian clients. And perhaps you’re already providing these clients with the same portfolio construction and financial plan as your other clients. “I have met with 2 advisors recently that came highly recommended,” a federal employee recently wrote in a blog post on FedSmith.com. “But, neither understood federal benefits.” Randy Silvey, a contributor to the site, wrote back with some tips on finding an advisor with a fed-focused practice: “You can find this out by reviewing their website. If Feds aren’t mentioned or are mentioned only as one group in many, keep looking.” The advisor should also be Series 7 licensed for at least 10 years, and the investor should like talking to them and believe the advisor listens to their needs.

Beware Binary Options

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is warning senior investors away from binary options. With these products, the investment either makes a pre-specified amount of money or nothing at all. If it’s the latter, that means the investor loses his or her entire investment. So not only are these extremely risky investments, but the regulator says it’s also an area brimming with fraud. FINRA’s Securities Helpline for Seniors has fielded numerous calls from investors reporting binary options trading firms that failed to deposit funds, refused to return funds or charged fees in order to return investment assets. FINRA says investors should be wary, particularly of non-U.S. companies.

No Deutsche Robo In U.S.

Deutsche Bank still isn’t sold on robo advisors. In an interview with OnWallStreet, Chip Packard, the co-head of Deutsche’s U.S. wealth management division, said the bank will continue to invest in technology but the ultra high-net-worth clients Deutsche serves in the U.S. aren’t demanding a robo. Instead, they want greater transparency, more up-to-date information and higher quality data. “I can see a lot of our clients demanding some of solutions they might receive from a robo advisor, such as enhanced data analytics and reporting capabilities, within the context of a broader wealth manager relationship, where a lot of those pieces can’t be filled by a robo advisor,” Packard said. He said a robo advisor might be more relevant to Deutsche’s clients in other countries.

Almost Half of Christian Millennials Turn to Their Faith for Financial Advice

A large number of Christian millennials have turned to a faith community or religious leader to seek financial advice, according to study released this month by Thrivent Financial, a non-profit financial services organization based in Minnesota. The organization’s inaugural Money Mindset Report indicates that 45 percent of Christian millennials have taken this route, as compared to 1 in 4 Christians overall. The goal of the research was to explore Christians’ relationship with money. Another top finding noted that 69 percent of American Christians said they would rather be called generous than financially successful, a number juxtaposed with just 27 percent of Christians who are very confident they are making the right decisions about their money. The Thrivent Financial survey was conducted by Wakefield Research, a market research consultancy, and included 1,000 nationally representative U.S. Christians over the age of 18.

Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase Co. in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on CS. Bankhaus Lampe cut Credit Suisse to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Zacks downgraded Credit Suisse from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley raised Credit Suisse from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Vetrupgraded Credit Suisse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $29.30 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Credit Suisse from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.10.

Shares of Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) traded up 1.05% on Thursday, hitting $25.11. The stock had a trading volume of 1,884,905 shares. Credit Suisse has a 52-week low of $21.01 and a 52-week high of $29.99. The firm has a market cap of $41.02 billion and a PE ratio of 11.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $25.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.95.

Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.07. The firm earned $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Credit Suisse will post $2.31 EPS for the current year.

Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) is a global financial services company. The Company operates in three segments: Investment Banking Wealth Management and Private Banking. Private Banking Wealth Management offers a wide selection of financial solutions plus advice to corporate, private and institutional customers. The Private Banking Wealth Management includes the Wealth Management Clients, Institutional Corporate Clients and Asset Management businesses. Asset Management offers a range of solutions and investment products across asset types and for all investment styles, functioning authorities, institutions, corporations and individuals around the globe. Investment Banking offers securities products and investment banking and services to corporate, institutional and government clients around the world. Services and its products include equity and debt underwriting, sales and trading, MAn advice, divestitures, corporate deal, restructuring and investment research.

Credit Suisse is set to add hundreds of new bankers to its wealth management team in Asia and speed up the pace of its recruitment. But it won’t just be tapping experienced talent from rival private banks. Sector-wide skill shortages will force the firm to look further afield – mass-affluent bankers, for example, are likely to be moulded into relationship managers (RMs) serving Asian millionaires, say recruiters.

The Swiss bank announced last week thatAsia has been earmarked for growth. Credit Suisse wants to cross sell more investment banking services to entrepreneurial clients in a bid to grow net new assets for its Asian private banking business from around CHF15bn ($16bn) today to CHF25bn ($26bn) by the end of 2018.

Over the same period the bank says it also wants to add more than 270 new RMs in Asia, taking its headcount to 800 from 524 currently. Credit Suisse has grown its Asian RM workforce by just 124 since 2012, according to bank figures, so its new plans demand that it recruits at more than double its previous three-year rate.

In the context of front-office Asian private banking this will be challenging. While Asia is the fastest growing region for private client wealth globally, there are only about 4,000 RMs in Singapore and Hong Kong combined across all banks and that number has been inching up by about 5% over the last few years, says Pathik Gupta, head of Asia Pacific wealth management at consultancy McLagan. “It’s very difficult to find new RMs in Asia given that every wealth management firm is on an aggressive hiring drive,” he adds.

Credit Suisse poaching private bankers

So how will Credit Suisse hire so many bankers? That partly depends on whether the RMs’ clients are ‘ultra high net worth’ (UHNW), people with about CHF50m ($51m) in liquid assets, or ‘high net worth’ (HNW) – CHF2m ($2.1m) is the threshold at Credit Suisse. In the UHNW segment, which makes up roughly 60% of the firm’s current RM headcount, Credit Suisse will concentrate on pulling senior RMs with bulging client books away from other private banks in Asia, say headhunters. It takes grey hairs to deal with clients at this level.

The stumbling block to UHNW hiring is convincing enough of a banker’s clients to move their assets to a new firm. But the Credit Suisse “brand name, extensive product suite and solid product support” will provide an enticement, says Liu Sanli, practice lead, private banking, at CA Search in Singapore. UHNW bankers, who are likely to have business-owning clients, will also be attracted by the Solutions Partners Group at Credit Suisse in Asia – a 40-strong team that helps RMs create investment banking products for clients.

Credit Suisse may find that boutique private banks provide the main hunting ground for finding UHNW bankers. As we’ve pointed to previously, many of these firms are suffering from high costs and tight margins in Asia. “By contrast, UBS offers a great product platform like Credit Suisse – there’s less incentive for you to move between banks that are quite similar,” says Rahul Sen, a former private banker, now head of wealth management at search firm The Omerta Group in Singapore.

Creative hiring at Credit Suisse

Credit Suisse will need to be more flexible with the HNW proportion of its forthcoming recruitment drive, say headhunters. “If they’re only going to poach current private bankers, they won’t be able to get near their hiring numbers,” says Nick Hughes, managing director of Asia Wealth Management Search.

Mass affluent RMs (who typically service clients under the $1m or $2m mark and are often called ‘priority’ or ‘privilege’ bankers in Asia) provide a viable alternative talent source, say recruiters. Credit Suisse already runs a ‘Global Training to Relationship Manager’ programme which turns priority bankers and other staff into junior RMs.

“For this new hiring Credit Suisse will look at priority bankers from the likes of HSBC, Standard Chartered and ANZ and train them up, especially for RM roles in Singapore and Hong Kong covering markets like Indonesia, Thailand and Taiwan,” says Sen. “Without these candidates it will be impossible to add that many RMs to their headcount. But they’ll only go for the more experienced, best performing priority bankers who can make the step up to HNW banking.”

“In general, expect Credit Suisse to return to ‘creative’ hiring in Asia,” says Josie Ling, a private banking consultant at search firm Eban in Singapore. “They’ll consider training people with strong relationships with HNW individuals and their companies, whether from priority banking or even investment or corporate banking. To a much lesser extent they’ll consider people from other industries with strong HNW networks and an aptitude for sales.”

Meanwhile, Credit Suisse might also decide to ramp up its graduate hiring, which could produce an increased cohort of junior RMs by 2018. It is one of the only firms in Asia to run both analyst (for new graduates) and associate (for Master’s degree holders) training programmes in wealth management.

Increasing competitive pressures and significant changes are in the works for the wealth management industry, according to a new survey by Forbes, Ernst Young and SEI Investment Company. The report, “Seeing Beyond: Unlocking the Long-Term Opportunities in Wealth and Asset Management,” details how the wealth management industry has been in growth mode but is also on the verge of undergoing profound change. According to the survey, a third of companies say their strategies are either in continuous evaluation, refinement and adjustment or are fully developed and implemented; and more than half say their firms are in pursuit of greater operating efficiencies and cost reductions. “As we have seen over the years in many other industries, top-line growth can only carry a firm for so long; consistent bottom-line growth and profitability is what really matters sooner or later,” said Marcelo Fava, principal, Ernst Young LLP and its Wealth Management Practice lead. “The best opportunities for wealth and asset management firms reside in having an optimal operating model across client segments, channels, products and platforms that can effectively and efficiently predict and address the changing needs and demands of their clients (both institutional and individual).”

SIFMA-Backed CISA Bill Passes Senate Vote

The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, a bill that lets companies share information about cybersecurity breaches with government agencies, cleared an initial vote in the Senate, paving the way for a likely passage. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association has been very supportive of CISA, stating, “information sharing legislation will help the financial services industry to better protect our systems and data as well as the privacy of our customers.” The lobbying group also got its wish to have a proposed amendment, which would have stripped companies of immunity to liability for breaking privacy agreements, struck down. SIFMA joins the NSA and CIA as one of the few groups supporting CISA. Privacy and Internet freedom advocacy groups, as well as a coalition of nearly every big tech name in Silicon Valley, claiming that it sacrifices their customers’ rights to privacy in the name of security, have roundly opposed the bill.

Dying Alone Not Such A Solitary Activity After All

The New York Times recently ran an interesting long-form feature, “The Lonely Death of George Bell,” that shines some light on the various governmental moving parts that whir to life when someone dies alone. However, this piece is more than just a bummer (though, trust me, it’s that too). As the article follows the difficulties that the public authorities go through to resolve the estate of George Bell, ranging from making basic decisions, like where he’ll be buried, to searching for scattered relations named in a 30-year old will, it offers some great insight into the importance of estate planning documents and the consequences of not having them in place.

Jefferson National Partners With Quovo

Jefferson National announced a new partnership with data analytics firm Quovo to help RIAs and fee-based advisors aggregate tax-deferred assets alongside taxable vehicles. Quovo will now get a direct feed of Jefferson National’s Monument Advisor, a flat-fee investment-only variable annuity used by more than 3,000 advisors. By being able to show taxable and tax-deferred assets in one location, Jefferson National President Laurence Greenberg said advisors could provide clients with more holistic management and transparency. For Quovo, it gives direct access to a new data feed to improve the ability capability for data-driven insights and analytics.

Equities researchers at FIG Partners cut their Q2 2016 EPS estimates for Boston Private Financial Hldg (NASDAQ:BPFH) in a report released on Thursday, according to Zacks. FIG Partners analyst C. Marinac now expects that the brokerage will post earnings of $0.19 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.22. FIG Partners has a “Market Perform” rating on the stock.

Boston Private Financial Hldg (NASDAQ:BPFH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.04. The company earned $85.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.46 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.22 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on BPFH. Jefferies Group lowered their price objective on Boston Private Financial Hldg from $14.50 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks cut Boston Private Financial Hldg from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. RBC Capital cut their price objective on Boston Private Financial Hldg from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette Woods cut their price target on Boston Private Financial Hldg from $12.50 to $12.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Sandler O’Neill dropped their price objective on Boston Private Financial Hldg from $13.50 to $12.50 in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.94.

Shares of Boston Private Financial Hldg (NASDAQ:BPFH) traded up 3.70% during midday trading on Friday, reaching $11.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,279,285 shares. The company has a market capitalization of $961.08 million and a P/E ratio of 16.07. Boston Private Financial Hldg has a one year low of $10.55 and a one year high of $13.82. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $11.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.48.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%.

In other Boston Private Financial Hldg news, CEO Clayton Deutsch sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.80, for a total transaction of $354,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 807,046 shares in the company, valued at $9,523,142.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc. is the bank holding company of Boston Private Bank Trust Company. It is a wealth management business that offers a variety of wealth management services to select institutions, families, companies, and high net worth individuals. The Company conducts its business through its four segments: Wealth Management Private Banking and Trust, Investment Management and Wealth Advisory. The Private Banking segment is engaged in providing private banking services to high net worth individuals, independently owned businesses, private partnerships, and nonprofit organizations. Trust segment and the Wealth Management provides wealth management solutions for high net worth individuals and families. The Investment Managers specialize in equity portfolios with products across the capitalization spectrum. The Wealth Advisory segment provides planning-based financial strategies to high net worth individuals and their loved ones and non profit associations.

To get a free copy of Zacks’ research report on Boston Private Financial Hldg (BPFH), click here. For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

Angel B. McCall, CFP®, achieves what a small number of wealth managers in the Denver area have.

Denver Co (PRWEB) October 21, 2015

Angel B. McCall, CFP®, Lifetime Financial Strategies, Inc. will is featured in a special section of the November issues of 5280 magazine and ColoradoBiz magazine as a 2015 Five Star Wealth Manager award winner.

Five Star Professional partnered with 5280 magazine and ColoradoBiz magazine to identify and showcase an exclusive group of wealth managers who have demonstrated excellence in their field.

“I am deeply honored to again be a part of this year’s prestigious group of award-winning advisors. Throughout my career, my mission as an advisor has been to help my clients become financially independent and self-reliant,” says Angel B. McCall, CFP®, of Lifetime Financial Strategies, Inc.

“Before becoming a financial advisor, I continually saw people struggling to plan for their financial future wondering whether their advisor truly had their clients’ best interests in focus,” says Angel. “I built my practice without ties to financial corporations and offer unbiased advice. I do not sell products.”

The 2015 Five Star Wealth Manager award winners have been carefully selected for their commitment to providing quality services to their clients. The award is based on an in-depth research process incorporating peer and firm feedback with objective criteria such as client retention rates, client assets administered, industry experience, and regulatory and complaint history.

“Based on our evaluation, the wealth managers we recognize are committed to pursuing professional excellence and have a deep knowledge of their industry. They strive to provide exemplary care to the people they serve,” stated Dan Zdon, CEO, Five Star Professional.

The Five Star Wealth Manager award, administered by Crescendo Business Services, LLC (dba Five Star Professional), is based on 10 objective criteria: 1. Credentialed as a registered investment adviser or a registered investment adviser representative; 2. Active as a credentialed professional in the financial services industry for a minimum of 5 years; 3. Favorable regulatory and complaint history review (unfavorable feedback may have been discovered through a check of complaints registered with a regulatory authority or complaints registered through Five Star Professional’s consumer complaint process*); 4. Fulfilled their firm review based on internal standards; 5. Accepting new clients; 6. One-year client retention rate; 7. Five-year client retention rate; 8. Non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered; 9. Number of client households served; 10. Education and professional designations.

Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or awarded. Once awarded, wealth managers may purchase additional profile ad space or promotional products. The award methodology does not evaluate the quality of services provided and is not indicative of the winner’s future performance. 3,008 Denver wealth managers were considered for the award; 517 (18 percent of candidates) were named Five Star Wealth Managers.

*To qualify as having a favorable regulatory and complaint history, the person cannot have: 1. been subject to a regulatory action that resulted in a suspended or revoked license, or payment of a fine, 2. had more than three customer complaints filed against them (settled or pending) with any regulatory authority or Five Star Professional’s consumer complaint process, 3. individually contributed to a financial settlement of a customer complaint filed with a regulatory authority, 4. filed for bankruptcy, or 5. been convicted of a felony.

Five Star Professional partnered with The Washington Post Magazine to identify and showcase an exclusive group of wealth managers who have demonstrated excellence in their field.

“My primary objective is to help you achieve financial freedom in a complex and constantly changing world,” says Thomas C. Block of Asset Management Group, Inc. “I firmly support families and small-business owners. As a father and a business owner myself, I feel the most connected to those two groups … and work every day to help them achieve financial success.”

The 2015 Five Star Wealth Manager award winners have been carefully selected for their commitment to providing quality services to their clients. The award is based on an in-depth research process incorporating peer and firm feedback with objective criteria such as client retention rates, client assets administered, industry experience, and regulatory and complaint history.

From Thomas to his clients: “Thank you for being a part of my practice, now and into the future. I hope to provide you even better service, year in and year out.”

Thomas sees his Five Star award as “a culmination of years of hard work and never quitting no matter the adversity. I am truly humbled.” The Five Star award has also provided this family man with another very important nod of approval. “My wife is very happy for me.”

The Five Star Wealth Manager award, administered by Crescendo Business Services, LLC (dba Five Star Professional), is based on 10 objective criteria: 1. Credentialed as a registered investment adviser or a registered investment adviser representative; 2. Active as a credentialed professional in the financial services industry for a minimum of 5 years; 3. Favorable regulatory and complaint history review (unfavorable feedback may have been discovered through a check of complaints registered with a regulatory authority or complaints registered through Five Star Professional’s consumer complaint process*); 4. Fulfilled their firm review based on internal standards; 5. Accepting new clients; 6. One-year client retention rate; 7. Five-year client retention rate; 8. Non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered; 9. Number of client households served; 10. Education and professional designations.

Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or awarded. Once awarded, wealth managers may purchase additional profile ad space or promotional products. The award methodology does not evaluate the quality of services provided and is not indicative of the winner’s future performance. 1,837 Washington, D.C., wealth managers were considered for the award; 227 (approximately 13 percent of candidates) were named Five Star Wealth Managers.

*To qualify as having a favorable regulatory and complaint history, the person cannot have: 1. been subject to a regulatory action that resulted in a suspended or revoked license, or payment of a fine, 2. had more than three customer complaints filed against them (settled or pending) with any regulatory authority or Five Star Professional’s consumer complaint process, 3. individually contributed to a financial settlement of a customer complaint filed with a regulatory authority, 4. filed for bankruptcy, or 5. been convicted of a felony.

Boston Private Financial Hldg (NASDAQ:BPFH) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 21st, Marketbeat.com reports. Investors of record on Friday, November 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.09 per share on Friday, November 20th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%.

In other Boston Private Financial Hldg news, CEO Clayton Deutsch sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.80, for a total value of $354,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 807,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,523,142.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martha Higgins sold 3,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total value of $44,681.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

BPFH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Panmure Gordon reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Boston Private Financial Hldg in a research report on Sunday, September 20th. RBC Capital dropped their price target on Boston Private Financial Hldg from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Keefe, Bruyette Woods reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $13.00 price objective (up previously from $12.00) on shares of Boston Private Financial Hldg in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Zacks raised Boston Private Financial Hldg from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective (up from $13.00) on shares of Boston Private Financial Hldg in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Boston Private Financial Hldg has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.19.

Boston Private Financial Hldg (NASDAQ:BPFH) traded down 2.59% during trading on Wednesday, reaching $11.68. The company had a trading volume of 397,446 shares. The company has a market capitalization of $976.14 million and a P/E ratio of 15.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $11.77 and a 200-day moving average of $12.50. Boston Private Financial Hldg has a 12 month low of $10.55 and a 12 month high of $13.82.

Boston Private Financial Hldg (NASDAQ:BPFH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.04. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. The firm earned $85.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.46 million. Equities research analysts expect that Boston Private Financial Hldg will post $0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc. is the bank holding company of Boston Private Bank Trust Company. It’s a wealth management business that offers a range of wealth management services to high net-worth individuals, families, businesses, and associations that are select. The Organization conducts its business through its four sections: Private Banking, Wealth Management and Trust, Investment Management and Wealth Advisory. The Private Banking section is engaged in providing private banking services to private ventures, high net-worth individuals, independently owned companies, and nonprofit organizations. Trust section and the Wealth Management provides wealth management solutions for high net-worth individuals and families. The Investment Managers specialize in equity portfolios with products over the capitalization spectrum. The Wealth Advisory segment provides planning-based fiscal strategies to high net-worth individuals as well as their loved ones and non profit institutions.

According to Zacks, “Manulife’s deep reach in the Asian market and a growing asset management business should drive long-term earnings growth. It also holds a significant market in Canada and the Standard Life Oversea Holdings takeover broadened its share in the region. However, weaker results from the U.S. division and low interest rates continue to weigh on the overall performance. Foreign exchange volatility is also a headwind. Additionally, recent volatile global equity markets coupled with low bond yields has largely affected company’s capital position. Manulife’s second-quarter results improved year over year on increased fee income from higher asset levels in wealth management businesses. Also, strong sales in Asia and stronger U.S. dollar assisted bottom-line growth.”

Shares of Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) traded up 1.46% during trading on Thursday, reaching $16.64. 1,370,161 shares of the company traded hands. The company has a market capitalization of $32.80 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.04. Manulife Financial has a 52 week low of $14.26 and a 52 week high of $20.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $15.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.55.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.44. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial will post $1.80 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th were given a $0.129 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on MFC. Canaccord Genuity upped their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. RBC Capital increased their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays restated an overweight rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Manulife Financial presently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $24.67.

Manulife Financial Corp is a Canada-based financial services and life insurance company. The Business provides financial protection and wealth management services and products. It caters to business and personal clients. It also provides asset management services to institutional customers. Its operating segments are Asia, Canadian and U.S. Divisions, and the Corporate and Other segment. Its Asia, Canadian and U.S. Offices segment offers protection and wealth management services, such as life insurance and individual group long-term care insurance, annuities, pension contracts and mutual fund products and services, retirement products, and deposit and credit products to Canadian customers, among others. The Organization ‘s Corporate and Other segment consists of investment performance on assets backing capital, net of sums allocated to operating division and funding costs, outside asset management business, and property and casualty (NYSE:MFC) reinsurance company, among others.

To get a free copy of the research report on Manulife Financial (MFC), click here. For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

That’s about the rate at which billionaire Steve Wynn is borrowing against his extensive art collection as wealth management firms push to win business from the world’s ultra-rich.

The casino mogul pledged 59 works of art as collateral for a loan from Bank of America Corp., one of several steps he recently took to raise cash, according to interviews and regulatory filings. The 73-year-old founder of Wynn Resorts Ltd. said the arrangements permit him to borrow at less than 1 percent.

“This is a great time to be poised with ample cash,” Wynn said in an e-mail through his spokesman.

The favorable terms highlight the increasing competition in the market for art lending, where wealth managers are seeking to win and retain top clients with lower interest rates than ever. Traditionally dominated by auction houses and banks such as Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase Co. and Bank of America, record prices for art and a surge in wealth among the world’s richest are attracting new players, including one venture backed by private equity firm Carlyle Group LP and Swiss wealth manager Pictet Group.

“We regularly hear from people interested in getting into this field, including private equity firms, commercial banks and individuals who want to fund deals on a one-off basis,” said Thomas C. Danziger, managing partner at Danziger, Danziger Muro who represents major banks and other lenders in structuring and documenting art loans. “My expectation is that it will only grow.”

Sweetened Terms

Wealth managers traditionally offered art lending as a courtesy service to their wealthiest clients. Some have sweetened the terms, issuing art loans based on a benchmark rate such as the three-month London interbank offered rate plus an additional 125 basis points, according to three people who familiar with the typical terms of such loans.

Consumers with more pedestrian levels of wealth pay a multiple of that, depending on their creditworthiness and collateral. The average rate for a $100,000 home equity floating rate loan is 3.79 percent, according to Bankrate.com. Pawnbrokers in New York can charge interest at annual rates of up to 48 percent.

Even for a wealthy bank client, Wynn’s rate is unusually low. While he didn’t disclose how the loan’s term, the maximum length for art loans is typically three to five years. Treasuries due in 2020 yield about 139 basis points, or 1.39 percent.

Personal Fortune

Wynn’s personal fortune has fallen about 30 percent this year to an estimated $1.9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That largely reflects the plummeting value of his stake in Wynn Resorts, whose shares have lost more than half their value in 2015, ranking the casino company as the fourth-worst performer in the Standard Poor’s 500 Index.

The collateral backing the loan could be valued at $200 million, said Beverly Schreiber Jacoby, who has done art appraisals for borrowers and lenders for 25 years and who reviewed the filing but hasn’t seen the works in person. Schreiber Jacoby in 2010 testified as an expert in a high-profile dispute between Christie’s and CNET Networks Inc. founder Halsey Minor concerning the value of a collection of Richard Prince paintings.

Wynn, through his spokesman, said the estimate was inaccurate but declined to provide a number.

Among the art listed is Jackson Pollock’s “Number 12,” which at its last public auction at Sotheby’s in May fetched $18 million. The list also includes a sculpture of a male head by Alberto Giacometti that sold for $50 million at Sotheby’s in 2013, and Andy Warhol’s “Double Elvis (Ferus Type)” that sold for $37 million in 2012.

‘Major Client’

Extremely low rates usually are reserved for clients already doing a lot of business with the bank or as an inducement for them to sign up for more services, said Andrew Rose, a principal at Art Finance Partners, a boutique art financing firm in New York. Typical rates for art loans run as high as 5 percent, he said.

“It’s the same as if you are a major client of Citigroup or Chase, and they give you a great deal on a mortgage,” Rose said.

Officials for JPMorgan and Citigroup declined to comment.

“Art lending fills an important need for some of our art owner clients, and therefore, our portfolio has grown,” said Julia Ehrenfeld, a spokeswoman for Bank of America, which provides wealth management services through its U.S. Trust private bank. “Our rates are competitive in the market and take into account the entire client relationship.”

New Players

Art loans are perhaps the most established portion of a market in which people take out personal loans on possessions of all types, ranging from wine collections to historical artifacts. Loans backed by art are expected to surpass $10 billion this year, doubling since 2011, according to art market research company Skate’s.

Carlyle and the private equity unit of Pictet, a Geneva-based wealth manager, said this month they are backing Athena Art Finance Corp. with $280 million of equity capital. Athena will offer loans equaling as much as 50 percent of the low estimate of a client’s collection, ranging from six months to seven years.

Morgan Stanley launched its Blue Rider Group unit in July, run by wealth manager Dan Desmond and Lauren Welsh Sparrow, to offer art loans and also handle investments for artists, collectors and museums.

Falcon Group, which specializes in corporate financing, last year started offering art loans through its Falcon Fine Art. The volume of deals is expected to reach $100 million in the next six months, said Chris Howarth, director at Falcon Fine Art.

Fastest Growth

For Sotheby’s, its financial services division has become the most profitable and fastest growing unit by making loans and advances that often help land consignments for the New York-based auction house, according to a Moody’s report published last month. Sotheby’s in June almost doubled the credit facility used to finance art loans to $1 billion, according to filings.

Although its interest rates are higher than at banks, Sotheby’s global presence, in-house network of experts and lawyers, and 25 years of underwriting allows it to move faster than others, Jan Prasens, managing director of Sotheby’s Financial Services, said in an interview.

Bank of America wants to double the $3 billion of art loans it has outstanding, in part by offering bargain basement rates, according to a person familiar with the Charlotte, North Carolina, company. Regulatory filings show that Bank of America has provided art loans to investor Arthur Samberg as well as a trust tied to Howard Marks, co-chairman of Oaktree Capital Group LLC, a Los Angeles-based money management firm.

One of the nation’s best known collectors, Wynn often displays art in his resorts, including several of the pieces pledged to Bank of America. He joins Steven A. Cohen, Tom Hill and Michael Steinhardt among the wealthy collectors who have previously taken bank loans against their art holdings, according to filings. Collectors typically take loans to fund other ventures, buy more art, or pay off debt.

“We are seeing more credit demand in the business than I have ever seen before,” said Asher Edelman, founder and president of art-financing company ArtAssure Ltd. “There’s an awful lot of demand from collectors who need cash and dealers who see opportunities.”